


the oneness and the completeness

by pepper_407



Category: The OC (TV)
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 04, Dialogue-Only, Established Relationship, Mentioned Alex Kelly, Mentioned Marissa Cooper, Multi, Polyamory, Queer Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:09:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28583292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepper_407/pseuds/pepper_407
Summary: four nerds in a relationship talk about stuff while cuddling
Relationships: Ryan Atwood/Taylor Towsend/Summer Roberts/Seth Cohen
Kudos: 2





	the oneness and the completeness

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from chino love song 1979 by the mountain gots (for obvious reasons lol)  
> this is a dumb little conversation set in an alternate season four that lives in my head rent free

"So I was thinking about Alex," says Summer while somehow managing to cuddle all three of the other people on the bed at one

"Alex who?" asks Seth

"Alex who? You dated her, god"

"Oh, like music Alex?"

"If you want to reduce her to a single characteristic, then yes"

Taylor starts to sit up a little bit more, "Who's Alex?"

"She worked at the Bait Shop and dated both Seth and Marissa," Summer says matter of factly

"Not at the same time" Seth deadpans at the same time as Taylor blurts out "Wait Marissa was queer?" and then quickly gets red and looks ashamed until both Ryan and Summer snuggle closer to her

"Oh yeah, it's weird, she was the first one out of all of us who had both the guts to pursue a girl and the knowledge that she wanted to," Seth says, sounding pretty awed by her

Summer quickly replied with, "Alex wasn't a girl"

"Oh shit yeah, sorry, I'm really shit at that"

Taylor, despite not having heard of Alex before twenty minutes ago she straight away knows what Seth and Summer mean, "Don't excuse yourself" she says to Seth, and then directs her next question to Summer, "She/her pronouns?"

"To my knowledge"

That's when Ryan speaks up for the first time in a while, "I wish, well, I just wish I had had the courage to befriend her" and with a look on their face that only Seth seems to recognise, "I could have really used someone like that back then"

"Well, what's she up to now? Because I have been saying for a while now, having two cis and two trans people in this relationship is too even, let's mix it up"

They were all used to Taylor's weirdness, and they loved it about her, although none of them (except Seth and Summer to each other) have yet to say those precise words they all knew it, what none of them expected was for Summer to then speak up, "That's actually kind of why I brought her up in the first place"

"You want to call up my ex to invite her into our already four-person relationship?"

"Well no, I just" Summer starts to sombre up even though she is obviously very amused by that idea so she takes a few seconds to continue her thought, "Does she know Marissa is dead?"

Summer was never one to beat around the bush but the reaction to that statement was awful and weird and makes Summer kind of regret bringing it up at all but when no one says anything to that she decided to continue anyway, "Like, she left but they were in a relationship for a few months and I know Marissa talked about reaching out to her to apologise for the way things ended, I don't think she ever did though"

"I don't want to sound like a dick but-" 

Seth is cut off by Ryan as gently as they can while also getting their point across, "Yet somehow you always do, so maybe just hold off"

Taylor, who has been understandably quiet through most of this conversation pipes up in a soft voice mostly aimed at Seth and his unspoken comment, "I think if someone I once cared about was" she reached for a good word to say before settling on, "gone. I think I would like to know"

"Does anyone even have a way to get in contact with her though?" Seth questioning and they all look at him like he should be the one with her number

He doesn't offer that up though so Taylor has to push the fact that he doesn't have her number anymore out of him and they all seem kind of lost and Summer looks like she seriously regrets bringing this whole conversation up, until Ryan says, "I think I might have a contact who would still have her number"

Summer can't help but tease a little them a little after that statement, "You have a contact? Who are you?"

"Lindsay," Ryan says very matter of factly and then almost whisper "Shut up" to Summer

"Like your ex?" Seth asks in a befuddled tone 

"And also your aunt"

"Well let's not go into what we define as related when we're on top of each other"

Summer and Taylor both give Seth a look when he says that because they all know Ryan still feels guilty about feeling romantic towards Seth even though they met as teenagers and Sandy and Kirsten have never referred to them as brothers. But unexpectedly Ryan is the one who stands up to their collective idiot boyfriend, "Well, she is Kirsten's sister, even if they don't really talk, I think maybe it still counts, either way, I think I still have her number"

"You think or you know?" Summer teases

Ryan gives her a look and says, "Think"

Taylor looks like she's trying to figure something out when she finally, literally snaps her fingers and says, "Lindsay Gardner?"

"You remember her?" Summer asks because she herself was in the inner circle at the time of her appearance and she barely remembers her

"She was very impressive, I had to study harder in science and maths to make sure I was top of the class, also" And Taylor blushes and she says the second part of her sentence "She was very pretty"

Ryan grins a little at that and they nudge her, and while this is happening Seth awkwardly asks, "You think she would have Alex's number?"

Summer nods her head in acknowledgement of this point but Ryan just says, "I remember they were friends of sorts and I know Lindsay physically writes down and keeps all phone numbers, or at least she used to"

"So, I guess we call Lindsay?" Seth says little incredulously

"It does seem like that is the direction we are heading" Taylor states while Ryan goes to look for their phone.


End file.
